PSX Extreme

Site Stats

PS3 Slim: Consumers Need To Strike As Early As Possible

If you wander into GameStop a month from now and ask to buy a PS3 Slim, don't be too surprised if they say they're out of stock.

Thing is, although the new system has a launch date of September 1, many retailers have already begun selling it...and as a direct result, they're flying off both physical and virtual shelves. PSXE readers have reported finding the system at their local Best Buys, and according to GameSpot, calls to San Francisco Bay Area retailers have confirmed that the PS3 Slim is available, but already sold out. One GameStop employee said:

"I think Sony's probably trying to keep supply tight, so it will be in high demand like the Wii and the PS3 were at launch. We had less than a week's warning it was coming. We had reserves only open for two to three days, and the shipment only had 12 to 13 consoles. We don't know when we'll be getting our next batch."

We all remember the launch of the PS3, when Sony didn't even have enough systems ready to cover pre-orders on the first day, and the console was essentially impossible to find for the first few months. Now, we really don't expect something like that to happen this time around; the console is cheaper and easier to produce, and this late-August/early-September release is better for the holidays than that mid-November launch in 2006. Right now, GameStop's online store and Amazon.com are listing the PS3 Slim as shipping within 24 hours, but Best Buy says the Slim is already on back-order. The good news is that the majority of Slim shipments haven't gone out yet; those should be shipping on or around the first of September.

But the bottom line is this: if you plan to get one, we advise not waiting. There's little point to it (the price ain't gonna drop again) and if you wait, you're risking a lot of, "sorry, we're sold out."

Ebgames here in Canada is having a deal if u trade u're 60gig or 40gig in u get a PS3 slim for 49.99? still not getting one as of yet just upgraded my 20gig the other day plus my little fat console is not worth the deal.

This is what I had feared since the beginning, I had sold my 60GB, knowing that I didn't want 2 PS3's, waiting for the Slim to come out for a whole year, sad thing is, from 1 year, MANY god damn PS3 exclusives that are awesome have come out! I gotta catch up!

I grabed and had pre-ordered my PS3 Slim as fast as possible, and was able to get my PS3 Slim on August 25th, my only gripes are the facts that it feels slower in many situations, especially at startup, by around 3 seconds. Though from the comparison-videos, it seems to startup games faster, I am only waiting for 3.0 to see what it will do with the Slim since 3.0 AND Slim were meant to exist together at the same time.

Great idea Sony, cut the price on the PS3, introduce the Slim, keep the flow of product tight so people who want the PS3 Slim can't find it, and watch as potential customers pick up the $299 Elite because they don't want the frustration of having to wait to join this new gen of gaming.

We gamers are an impatient lot.

For every correct step that you think Sony makes and that they are finally getting it right, Sony takes two steps back.

Hey, videogame companies have been doing this for years. Send very few consoles into the market, let them sell out, and watch the frenzy as the mainstream media reports your console is this year's hot X-mas item.

Brilliant strategy as long as people are willing to wait for you to resupply the market, not so much if they don't.

As far as being impatient, how many kids are willing to accept an IOU under the X-Mas tree saying "You'll get XYZ console when it is in stock"?

As far as retail employees, I never listen to any of them because they are normally fanboys of one kind or another pushing their agenda.

Stopped by a best buy in Scarborough Ontario yesterday. Sure enough they had about a dozen of them sitting on the floor. I don't know how many Best Buy is getting but the guy I talked to said they had sold 70 of them before noon the day before. If that's only one Best Buy in Ontario, imagine how many units are being sold in NA alone. I can't wait to see the sales figures for August, September.

I was thinking of grabbing one, but my 80 GB is still going strong so I'm holding off for a bit.Last edited by CH1N00K on 8/28/2009 10:56:00 AM

I love the way some PS3 Phat owners here want to pick up a Slim, but they really don't have an excuse to because their Phat is still going strong like a gaming console should! 360 owners on the other hand.......

As they say in entertainment, always leave the audience wanting more. Having tight supply of the new PS3 isn't necessarily a bad thing, remember the criticism of the PS3 when it launched and people poked fun about the fact that it was easy to find? Do we really want a return of this?

It's super quiet. I think that's the best thing about it. Other then that its exactly the same. The start up tune and screen is a tad different. It looks purrty but I do miss the gloss finish.Last edited by Jawknee on 8/28/2009 1:10:03 PM

I'm loving the slim. The videos and pics of it made me think it was going to be bigger than it actually is. It's definitley smaller than the Fat PS3 and VERY quiet. I like the look of it more, it doesn't collect dust. My fatPs3 collects dust every day it seems. I've had the slim since the 25th and it shows no signs of dust. It look really nice laying (lying) flat and it matches my other electronics (all black) way better than the Fatty did.Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 8/28/2009 1:11:17 PM

I do like the touch buttons more. But the new ones are ok too. I dig the mirror finish on he surface where the buttons lay. Also the got rid of the power switch incthe rear. If plugged in. It's alway on standby.

Actually Fat was used as a word to desribe an overly large person way before the FAT file system came into creation. People choosing to put the word Fat in all caps are simply expressing their intense love for the word through the net. Capisce?Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 8/28/2009 4:34:22 PM

Ahem, I'm cited for folks who are joining the revolution. It's always good to have more supporters, more online players, more people seeing the light. A slim would be great but I'm spending all my free cash on games and my old "busty" PS3 is still rockin and rollin with the best of em.

Edit: LOL, Amazon just sent me an email for the xbox price cut. Never got one for the PS3 price cut, hmmmm.Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 8/28/2009 4:15:59 PM

I just picked one up from gamestop and the receipt list they scan only showed like 12 or 15 slots on it and half were gone. I stopped by Sears first like a dumba** and they're not available there until Sept. 1. I'm liking the size reduction already and it hasn't taken the fat one's spot yet.

Mine either. I'm still in the proces of swap HDD's and restorting data. I put the 120gb in my fatty and am trying to restore it. Keeps freezing. Hmmm....Once I'm finished with that Ima stick my 500gb in the slim and and start the lengthy redownload/reinstall process.

I've been trying to get all my stuff back by redownloading it, it's gonna take awhile, almost 100gb. My daughter wants the fatty, so I didn't try swapping drives. She kinda shocked me when I offered her the choice of a slim or original and she picked the original.

when i went to best buy just earlier there were four.. and then i went to go see some games and then when i got back to the ps3's again there were three. and im not the one who bought one because i already have the voluptuous ps3.

Anybody with Sony Bravia hdtvs will probably like to know that when you turn the slim's power on the tv automatically switches to the input with the ps3. It also tells you it's a ps3 instead of which hdmi input number you're using. It also powers your tv on if it's off.

Two things about this new Slim that I experienced today. 1. I met someone at Fry's that bought a new Slim for his sons and the employee seemed to be an Xbot and didn't help this poor guy. He would just point to him in a hurried fashion. "Just get that." I guess he was preoccupied with getting clearanced stock for his friend so that they could get some major discounts. At least, that's what I overheard. I helped out the customer and he was very greatful. His kids are stoked to be getting that many games right away.
2. My brother has a MotorStorm 80GB model and is thinking about buying two Slims, to have blu-ray players in the other rooms. I saw a pretty impressive stock at the store today but yeah, come the holidays, they could be scarce. I've seen that happen during many holidays.

there all sold out here.well either sold out or retailers are refusing to sell them, as the release date is not till september 3rd.its really wired normally if one store sells something all do.like i got KZ2 2 days before release, every EB and game store was selling it 2 days early.but with the slim EB parra, blacktown, penthurst, is sold out, but EB in strathfield, farfield, merrylands and wetherwill park is refusing to sell them till september 3rd.thats never happened to me before normally if one store sells it all stores sell it.dam it getting games early these days is dam near impossible.

mmm well I work at a Montreal Future Shop and we got 157 consoles (ps3 slim) on the 25th and started selling them. Then we ran out on the 28th AND we received 60 more the 29th. I don't think the shipments will be that tight and I think that Best Buy might have been lost in some country side town for getting only 12-13 consoles lol . But one thing is for sure. PEOPLE LOVE EM. And on that week the ps3's outsold the Wii's and 360's 147 to 1. lol no jokes.Last edited by Neo_Aeon666 on 8/31/2009 4:58:07 PM